The event was attended by survivors who benefited from a fund established to pay their expenses and everyone was reminded that breast cancer isn't limited just to women.

Donna Hudgins, planning committee member, said, "Last year, we had a man come forward, and we learned there were several in Wood County being treated. They have mammograms and chemotherapy the same way women do. So, it's very urgent men keep their checkups and keep their appointments with their doctors."

Local dignitaries and health experts attended today's event, along with local survivors who have benefited from a local fund to pay for their expenses.

Cindy Lane, breast cancer survivor, said, "My mother died a year ago from breast cancer. It could have been prevented if she had gone to a doctor, and she never did."

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Breast Cancer Awareness

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The third Friday in October each year is National Mammography Day. Learn which facilities in your area are taking part in this Oct. 19 event:

Gather as much information as you can about your family history of cancer, breast cancer, and screening mammograms.

Call the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service for more information about breast cancer and mammograms at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). People with TTY equipment, dial 1-800-332-8615.

Alternate Forms of Breast Cancer Treatment

There are many ways to treat breast cancer, and these are the four main types:

surgery

radiation therapy

chemotherapy

hormone therapy

Most patients with breast cancer have surgery to remove the cancer from the breast. Usually, some of the lymph nodes under the arm are also taken out and looked at under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells.

There are many different kinds of operations used; lumpectomy, partial or segmental mastectomy, total or simple mastectomy, modified radical mastectomy and radical mastectomy.

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

Radiation therapy may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy), or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells, and is called a systemic treatment because the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the breast area.

Chemotherapy may be taken by mouth or it may be put into the body by inserting a needle into a vein or muscle.

Biological therapy tries to get the body to fight cancer. It uses materials made by the body or made in a laboratory to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against disease.

Biological therapy such as bone marrow transplantation, and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation are being tested in clinical trials.

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